Kanana informal settlement residents move into their new homes

Nomalanga Ngudle (62) has been waiting for a house since 1994. Picture: Armand Hough/African News Agency(ANA)

Nomalanga Ngudle (62) has been waiting for a house since 1994. Picture: Armand Hough/African News Agency(ANA)

Published Feb 24, 2021

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Cape Town - Twelve families from the Kanana informal settlement moved into their new homes in the Forest Village housing project as part of the Airport Precinct Catalytic housing project launched in 2019.

More beneficiaries are expected to relocate today and tomorrow to give the human settlements department a clear site for the commencement of construction.

The project will deliver 9 000 housing opportunities comprising duplex and multi-storey walk-ups to the greater Gugulethu area and its surroundings. It forms part of the Southern Corridor Integrated Human Settlement Programme that will deliver approximately 50 000 housing opportunities to residents within the city.

Human Settlements MEC Tertius Simmers, who was on site to witness the relocations said the elderly and persons with disabilities were prioritised for the 75 units.

“Thursday will be the last relocation of the 24 of the 75 beneficiaries to Forest Village. I am happy that once again it's been the elderly and people with disabilities who have benefited. One of the beneficiaries is an elderly woman who refused to relocate last year. She had been living in Kanana since 1994 and had been waiting for this housing opportunity.

“With today's move the project will commence later this year or early next year as we have communicated with the community of Kanana. We also indicated to the community that they should assist the government by ensuring that the areas that have been de-densified are not reoccupied.

“I am aware that a construction company has been awarded a tender and they are due to start with construction in 2021 with phase one of the project,” he said.

Simmers said the pandemic had impacted the relocations, “as under the hard lockdown we were not allowed to go into these communities and facilitate beneficiary placements and that set us back for a few months”.

Ward councillor Bongani Ngcombolo, who welcomed the relocation process said he was not satisfied with the number of beneficiaries that were relocated, adding that the process was slow.

“The number of people that were promised to be relocated during the initial planning stages of the project were 1 000, however only just less than a hundred people were relocated.

“This is now not going according to plan, and has become chaotic. They are relocating a few people from scattered spaces which are later reoccupied by residents because you can't fence them. People are frustrated as the provincial government has been disregarding them for years.

“The MEC should create a communication platform with the leaders because we are left to answer the residents’ questions on changes that we are not informed of,” he said.

One of the beneficiaries, 62 year-old Nomalanga Ngudle who resides with her grandchildren said she was relieved to have finally received a house she could call her own after 27 years of waiting.

Cape Argus